History Main / LastDayOfNormalcy

While this can be used for a singular hero/heroine, it is more common for a story that involves a group, allowing the author to showcase their relationship dynamics, good and bad, prior to putting them into the thick of danger, where those characteristics might come out of left field because they're weren't previously established, including ChekhovsSkill, or showing the audience who is TheLeader, TheHeart, TheLancer, TheSpock, and even the DirtyCoward or TheSoCalledCoward.

** "Fugitive of The Judoon": It's Ruth Clayton's birthday, but is otherwise a very normal day for her... until a squad of Judoon space police descend on the city of Gloucester and place it under lockdown in pursuit of a
dangerous intergalactic fugitive. By the close of the episode, her partner is dead, and she's discovered that [[spoiler:she herself isn't human, but actually a Time-Lord... specifically, an incarnation of The Doctor, and was the fugitive the Judoon were hunting.]]

* ''Videogame/Fallout4'' begins with the PlayerCharacter, their HappilyMarried spouse and their baby son Shawn, going through the motions on a typical morning for a suburban American family. The morning in question is October 23rd 2077, the day the People's Republic of China declared war on America with a massive co-ordinated nuclear bombardment.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': The series opens with Luz and her mother Camilla at the principal's office, because of trouble caused by Luz' wild creativity (she put living spiders in a school project and used fake guts -- sausage -- in a production of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''). She is forced to go a reform camp to learn to be "normal", and it's shown that Camilla means well but is worried because Luz' excessive imagination keeps her from making friends. After her mom leaves her at the bus stop, Luz runs to get back her favourite book (of fantasy, of course) she put on the trash bin, but it's taken by an owl that goes through a magic portal. Then Luz meets Eda, who sells human trash in a market, and King, a cute but self-centered creature that believes he is a real king who had his throne stolen, and has an "army" of plushies.

** ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' opens with Dr. Peter Venkman performing an experiment with his Columbia University parapsychology students before he joins his colleagues, Drs. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler, in tracking a ghost at the New York Public Library, after which they go back to the university, where they're told by [[DeanBitterman Dean Yeager]] that they're being dismissed, leading to them establishing their business as paranormal investigators and exterminators.

* ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}'' begins with Hughie overhearing of a news broadcast of [[SupermanSubstitute Homelander]] and [[WonderWomanWannabe Queen Maeve]], two members of [[SuperHeroTeam The Seven]] stopping a gang of bank robbers. A few minutes later, Hughie asks his girlfriend, Robyn, to move in together to show he doesn't have a fear of commitment, and wants to have a future with her. Just as she's about to answer him, A-Train, another member of The Seven smashes into Robyn at SuperSpeed, [[ChunkySalsaRule reducing her to a bloody pulp]], and traumatizing Hughie. When Billy Butcher gets in contact with Hughie, Butcher convinces him to join [[CapeBusters his crusade to take down The Seven]].

->''"Imagine a day like any other. The children are fighting. The refrigerator is humming. Highways are jammed, playgrounds are filled. Everything is perfectly normal...for the very last time."''
-->- tagline from ''Film/{{Testament}}''

!!Examples

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'': After the prologue, the film opens with Emmet's daily routine, where he follows his instructions as he gets dressed in his apartment, greets his neighbors, orders overpriced coffee, and works at the construction site. Later that night, he falls down the hole where he finds [[{{Macguffin}} the Piece of Resistance]], everyone thinks he's the Special, he learns about President Business's plan to use the Kragle to end the world in 3 days, and he gets dragged into an adventure by Wyldstyle after she rescues him.
* ''WesternAnimation/AMonsterInParis'': The first part shows the lives of Emile and Raoul, respectively a cinema operator and a delivery guy/inventor, until the accident that gives rise to Francoeur, the star of the film. After that, we also see the life of the singer Lucille, who has a lot of stress because of her aunt Carlotta's pressuring her to accept the court of [[{{Jerkass}} Commissioner Maynott]] and also because they must find a new musician for the show. (She is actually more important for the plot than Raoul and Emile, because it's she whom interacts with Francoeur the most and convinces the others to help save him from the police.)

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

** ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' opens with Dr. Peter Venkman performing an experiment with his Columbia University parapsychology students before he joins his colleagues, Drs. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler, in tracking a ghost at the New York Public Library, after which they go back to the university, where they're told by [[DeanBitterman Dean Yeager]] that they're being dismissed, leading to them establishing their business as paranormal investigators and exterminators.

* ''Film/RoboCop1987'': Alex Murphy is transferred to the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} Metro West precinct, and thinks he will take his new partner, Anne Lewis, on a routine patrol, where they run afoul of notorious crime lord, Clarence Bodicker. However, Murphy is cornered by Bodicker and Lewis witnesses Bodicker and his men, and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath execute Murphy using shotguns at short range]]. Murphy then wakes up a year later as Robo-Cop.
* ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'': We're introduced to Luke Skywalker on Tatooine as a bored kid working on his Uncle Owen's moisture farm, who "wastes time with his friends" at Tosche Station and has dreams of leaving. Then his Uncle buys two used droids with a bit of a history, and one with a mission to find Obi Wan Kenobi.
* ''Film/TheTerminator'': Even as we're shown the titular Terminator systematically eliminating everyone who shares the name of our heroine, the audience is shown the life of Sarah Connor, waitress, as she goes about her daily life, interacting with customers and co-workers, chatting with her roommate, and playing a mild prank of said roommate's boyfriend when he tries to do a bit of foreplay over the phone. Then she has a close call with the T-800, and her life is ''never'' the same again.
* ''Film/TheThing1982'': At the start of the movie the personnel of Outpost 31 are introduced doing various activities like playing ping pong in the rec room or competing against a computer in a round of virtual chess before a Norwegian helicopter arrives shooting at a dog with the intent to try and kill it.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheBoys2019'' begins with Hughie overhearing of a news broadcast of [[SupermanSubstitute Homelander]] and [[WonderWomanWannabe Queen Maeve]], two members of [[SuperHeroTeam The Seven]] stopping a gang of bank robbers. A few minutes later, Hughie asks his girlfriend, Robyn, to move in together to show he doesn't have a fear of commitment, and wants to have a future with her. Just as she's about to answer him, A-Train, another member of The Seven smashes into Robyn at SuperSpeed, [[ChunkySalsaRule reducing her to a bloody pulp]], and traumatizing Hughie. When Billy Butcher gets in contact with Hughie, Butcher convinces him to join [[CapeBusters his crusade to take down The Seven]].

* ''Series/H2OJustAddWater'': The first episode, "Metamorphosis", introduces the three heroines (Emma, Cleo, and Rikki), shows them going through a life as {{Ordinary High School Student}}s, and has them shipwrecked to Mako Island where they first discover the moon pool, and coming into contact with it once a full moon passes over grants them the ability to turn into mermaids whenever they touch water.

[[folder:Web Video]]

* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'': The first episode introduces us to the characters of the Future Gadgets Lab, Okabe with his {{Chuunibyou}} personality quirks, Daru with his lecherous tendencies as well as his computer skills, and sweet and spacy Mayuri Shiina, all quietly killing time in the lab space. We also get to meet Kurisu Makise as she cooly and systematically destroys all of Okabe's theories on time travel, [[spoiler: right before she's brutally murdered]]. Okabe makes a frantic text message that unwittingly alters the entire timeline at the end of the episode.

[[folder: Literature]]

* ''Series/{{Claws}}'': The first episode spends a lot of time explaining how the main characters launder money and establishing their relationships with each other, particularly Desna and Roller's volatile romance. The inciting incident -- [[spoiler: Desna trying to kill Roller over money and his mistreatment of her]] -- occurs at the end of the episode.

*** ''Innocent Sin'': While it was obvious from the beginning that something was ''off'' and has been that way for a while now, the intro starts fairly normal - Tatsuya is looking for his teacher so they can get this "post-graduation advice meeting" out of the way. Then he gets news that a classmate has been kidnapped (it turned out to be innocent, it was some guys from another school trying to recruit him in their rock band)... And that is when the Joker shows up and tries to kill everyone.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': The series opens with Luz and her mother Camilla at the principal's office, because of trouble caused by Luz' wild creativity (she put living spiders in a school project and used fake guts - sausage - in a production of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''). She is forced to go a reform camp to learn to be "normal", and it's shown that Camilla means well but is worried because Luz' excessive imagination keeps her from making friends. After her mom leaves her at the bus stop, Luz runs to get back her favourite book (of fantasy, of course) she put on the trash bin, but it's taken by an owl that goes through a magic portal. Then Luz meets Eda, who sells human trash in a market, and King, a cute but self-centered creature that believes he is a real king who had his throne stolen, and has an "army" of plushies.

''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'': The first few chapters of Maus feature Vladek's life in interwar Poland, his courtship with Anja, and his early family life with Richieu.

->''Imagine a day like any other. The children are fighting. The refrigerator is humming. Highways are jammed, playgrounds are filled. Everything is perfectly normal...for the very last time.''

* ''[[Series/TheBoys2019 The Boys]]'' begins with Hughie overhearing of a news broadcast of [[SupermanSubstitute Homelander]] and [[WonderWomanWannabe Queen Maeve]], two members of [[SuperHeroTeam The Seven]] stopping a gang of bank robbers. A few minutes later, Hughie asks his girlfriend, Robyn, to move in together to show he doesn't have a fear of commitment, and wants to have a future with her. Just as she's about to answer him, A-Train, another member of The Seven smashes into Robyn at SuperSpeed, [[ChunkySalsaRule reducing her to a bloody pulp]], and traumatizing Hughie. When Billy Butcher gets in contact with Hughie, Butcher convinces him to join [[CapeBusters his crusade to take down The Seven]].

[[/folder]]

* ''Film/{{Critters}}'': Even as we're shown that the titular alien monsters have escaped their interstellar prison ship, we're introduced to the Brown Family in the almost pastoral setting of their farmhouse, including young son Brad's mischievous streak, which served him well against the alien menace.

** ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'': We're introduced to Callie, Trevor, and Pheobe [[spoiler:Spengler]] in their Chicago apartment before circumstances would force them to move to a small Oklahoma town to inherit their grandfather's farm. The scene shows us Callie's resentment of her late father, Trevor's snarky wit, and Pheobe's skill and affinity for science.

* ''Film/RoboCop1987'': Alex Murphy was transferred to the Detroid Metro West precinct, and thinks he will take his new partner, Anne Lewis, on a routine patrol, where they run afoul of notorious crime lord, Clarence Bodicker. However, Murphy is cornered by Bodicker and Lewis witnesses Bodicker and his men, and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath execute Murphy using shotguns at short range]]. Murphy then wakes up a year later as Robo-Cop.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In the first episode, Phillip J. Fry is working as a pizza delivery boy on New Years Eve. His last day of Normalcy ends when he's accidently frozen for a thousand years into the future.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': the series opens with Luz and his mother, Camilla at the principal's office, because of trouble caused by Luz' wild creativity (she put living spiders in a school project and used fake guts - sausage - in a Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet play). She is forced to go a reform camp to learn to be "normal", and it's shown that Camilla means well but is worried because Luz' excessive imagination keeps her from making friends. After her mom leaves her at the bus stop, Luz runs to get back her favourite book (of fantasy, of course) she put on the trash bin, but it's taken by an owl that goes through a magic portal. Then Luz meets Eda, who sells human trash in a market, and King, a cute but self-centered creature that believes he is a real king who had his throne stolen, and has an "army" of plushies.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' starts with Adora having a regular day as a cadet of the Horde. Obedient and strictly by the book, she is promoted to Force Captain by her foster mother Shadow Weaver, but is also told she'll be separated from her friends. That includes Catra, her foster sister and best friend, who is the complete opposite of Adora and also wanted that promotion. To comfort her, Adora takes Catra to a joyride by skiff, but the latter insists on driving to the Whispering Woods, accidentaly knocking Adora off. The girl hears a voice and sees a strange sword in the woods; late at night, she goes back after the sword, meeting Glimmer and Bow, who are fighting the Horde.

** VideoGame/Persona5'': Played with, given that the game starts InMediaRes before jumping back to Joker coming to Tokyo as a TransferStudent and visiting his new school the day before classes start. The next day, a mysterious app appears on his phone that keeps reappearing no matter how many times he deletes it, and inadvertently triggering it causes him and another student to be transported to the Metaverse.

* VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses is a downplayed example; strange things had already been going on around the academy and an entire Village went berserk at the hands of [[spoiler:Tomas]], but the feeling of normalcy wasn't entirely shattered until [[spoiler:Edelgard declared war on the Church of Seiros and launched a full-scale assault after her invasion of the Holy Tomb]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': the series opens with Luz and his mother, Camilla at the principal's office, because of trouble caused by Luz' wild creativity (she put living spiders in a school project and used fake guts - sausage - in a Theare/RomeoAndJuliet play). She is forced to go a reform camp to learn to be "normal", and it's shown that Camilla means well but is worried because Luz' excessive imagination keeps her from making friends. After her mom leaves her at the bus stop, Luz runs to get back her favourite book (of fantasy, of course) she put on the trash bin, but it's taken by an owl that goes through a magic portal. Then Luz meets Eda, who sells human trash in a market, and King, a cute but self-centered creature that believes he is a real king who had his throne stolen, and has an "army" of plushies.

* WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce: The first episode gives not only a glimpse of Ben's regular life (playing soccer at school), but also of Grandpa Max, Gwen and Kevin's. Ben goes to visit his grandfather at the trailer camp Max is living now to find a weird alien there and his grandpa's message about the Omnitrix. He goes to see Gwen in a karate competition, showing they became a lot closer; that's when they meet Magister Labrid, whom (after a short misunderstanding) asks their help to solve the case Max has been working on. They find out that Kevin (who is human again), is still involved in shady schemes, as when they were children.

* WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse: the series opens with Luz and his mother, Camilla at the principal's office, because of trouble caused by Luz' wild creativity (she put living spiders in a school project and used fake guts - sausage - in a Literature/RomeoAndJuliet play). She is forced to go a reform camp to learn to be "normal", and it's shown that Camilla means well but is worried because Luz' excessive imagination keeps her from making friends. After her mom leaves her at the bus stop, Luz runs to get back her favourite book (of fantasy, of course) she put on the trash bin, but it's taken by an owl that goes through a magic portal. Then Luz meets Eda, who sells human trash in a market, and King, a cute but self-centered creature that believes he is a real king who had his throne stolen, and has an "army" of plushies.

* ''Series/H2OJustAddWater'': The first episode, "Metamorphosis", introduces the three heroines (Emma, Cleo, and Rikki), shows them going through a life as {{OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent}}s, and has them shipwrecked to Mako Island where they first discover the moon pool, and coming into contact with it once a full moon passes over grants them the ability to turn into mermaids whenever they touch water.

* ''Series/{{Claws}}'': The first episode spends a lot of time explaining how the main characters lauder money and establishing their relationships with each other, particularly Desna and Roller's volatile romance. The inciting incident -- [[spoiler: Desna trying to kill Roller over money and his mistreatment of her]] -- occurs at the end of the episode.

* ''Film/{{Critters}}'': Even as we're shown that the titular alien monsters have escaped their interstellar prison ship, we're introduced to the Brown Family in the almost pastoral setting of their farmhouse, including young son Brad's mischevious streak, which served him well against the alien menace.

* ''Film/{{TheThing1982}}'': At the start of the movie the personnel of Outpost 31 are introduced doing various activities like playing ping pong in the rec room or competing against a computer in a round of virtual chess before a Norwegian helicopter arrives shooting at a dog with the intent to try and kill it.

* ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'': We're introduced to Luke Skywalker on Tatooine as a bored kid working on his Uncle Owen's moisture farm, who "wastes time with his friends" at Tashi Station and has dreams of leaving. Then his Uncle buys two used droids with a bit of a history, and one with a mission to find Obi Wan Kenobi.

* ''WebVideo/ExandriaUnlimited'': In the ''Calamity'' opener "Excelsior", the first half (after the DreamingOfThingsToCome opening) is spent establishing the Ring of Brass in the shining city of Avalir, hours before the Calamity will bring it to ash and ruin.

* ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'': We're introduced to Callie, Trevor, and Pheobe [[spoiler:Spengler]] in their Chicago apartment before circumstances would force them to move to a small Oklahoma town to inherit their grandfather's farm. The scene shows us Callie's resentment of her late father, Trevor's snarky wit, and Pheobe's skill and affinity for science.